Fez of 'That '70s Show' dons superhero garb
By Marty GrahamFri Jul 15, 6:34 PM ET
Actor Wilmer Valderrama, best known as Fez on Fox television's "That
'70s Show," says he needed a special swagger to become Hollywood's first
Latino superhero, but he insists it's all in the suit.
The 25-year-old Miami native recently wrapped production on the
independent film "El Muerto," based on a graphic novel by Javier
Hernandez, and he appeared in costume this week at the comic book
convention Comic-con to preview a trailer for the movie.
"They really wanted to up the hunk factor, so they came up with these
amazing pants," Valderrama said, referring to the costume's
tight-fitting black leather pants. "Wearing that suit really changed my
walk."
Valderrama demonstrated a lean, lithe, shadowy movement far from his
portrayal of Fez, the adorably goofy foreign exchange student he has
played on "That '70s Show" since its debut in 1998.
"El Muerto," which co-stars Joel David Moore, Tony Plana and Angie
Cepeda, is a production of the independent Los Angeles film company
Dream Entertainment and is expected in theaters later this year.
Valderrama plays a young man in East Los Angeles who is abducted by
Aztec gods when his car crashes on the way to a festival celebrating the
Mexican holiday known as the Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos).
Transformed into El Muerto, the Aztec Zombie, he struggles with the
world between life and death, using his supernatural powers to protect
his loved ones from evil.
"Our goal was to make a beautiful drama of this awesome world that
Javier created," Valderrama said. "It's the first movie based on a
graphic novel about Latinos set in East L.A."
Valderrama said he also was involved in developing a reality television
show with MTV, tentatively called "Yo Mama," inspired by rapper Eminem's
2002 movie "8 Mile."
"It's street kids going against each other on 'yo' mama' jokes," he
said. "I'm hosting and creating the show."
Other projects include an upcoming film, "The Darwin Awards," with
Joseph Fiennes and Winona Ryder, and Valderrama plans to return to "That
'70s Show" for an eighth and presumed final season of the show.
He said producers plan to revive the use of dream sequences in the final
episodes and may introduce Fez's parents to reveal the answer to one of
the show's long-standing mysteries -- his character's exact country of
origin.
"We are going to leave with a bang, we are going to get in as much
trouble as possible," Valderrama promised.
Fez is a part not far from his own experience. Valderrama was born in
Miami but moved to Venezuela when he was three years old. When his
family returned to the United States when he was 13, he did not speak a
word of English.
As well as his comic role in "That '70s Show," Valderrama is a regular
in U.S. gossip columns as a ladies man, with past girlfriends including
Lindsay Lohan and Mandy Moore.
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